All that for a Bus Ride? Peppered with pictures from Chiada

Consider yourself Invited. Or Warned.

The 2007 (Semi-) Annual “Death March”
(Beach walk from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria - on the beach)
Monday, January 1, 2007 - Start time is 10:30 am SHARP! (Yes, that is the sound of a whip cracking. I am Norweigan, German, and bossy, plus I plan Very Important Days for a living.)

Many years ago, my family started a tradition on the first day of every year. We would walk from “our” beach in Carpinteria to East Beach in Santa Barbara. Scott and I re-started this tradition with roaring success a few years ago, but bad weather the last few years has prevented us from continuing. Since this year has been gorgeous, I hereby officially declare an open season, and suggest you start "training". I 'trained' last night at around eight, and I wish my words could adequately convey how lovely it was, even in the dark.


Don’t worry if you’re not in top shape, as we’ve had “finishers” as young as five in the past. The terrain is 90% flat with a few rocky outcroppings and tide pools. Below is a basic run-down of things to bring and how everything will work.

By 10 am we will be headed for the Carpinteria (south) end of East Beach. Drivers: Please arrange to drop your passengers at the beach, park at the bus station on Carrillo and coordinate/carpool with each other to get everyone down to East Beach, arriving in plenty of time to get started at 10:30.

We stop and have a nice quick lunch in Summerland, but please keep in mind we do need to mind the tide! This is also a nice place for anyone who would like to stop halfway to do so. If you do choose to stop here, you will find the bus stop (Bus Schedule - Scroll down to the Line 20 Sunday Schedule) right up the hill on Summerland’s Lillie Avenue (by the Post Office). We should be there by no later than 1:00 pm, so anyone who’d like to stop early or would like to join us at this halfway point is welcome. Remember: Time and Tide wait for no man.

Let me repeat that: The Tide Will Not Wait for you, me, or your seagull-chasing dog. Last time we did this, people did not listen to me. (Always a mistake) Three hours later, these same people were grumbling at ME... Why? Because the tide came up. The lesson here (aside from the fact that people should seriously start listening to me, even though I am short) is this: I am Not. Joking when I say we'll have a "nice, quick" lunch. Do not complain to me if you were lolling around, eating smoked Gouda and drinking another classy plastic cup of fine wine, and now your shoes are wet. Not that I object if you bring fine wine (Tip: Hide it in your backpack, no glass or adult drinks on the beach), and good cheese is almost required. But let's just eat and run, ok?

High Tide will be at 7 am, low tide at 2:45 (It's a negative tide at -1.28 feet!), so we will have the advantage of the tide being on the way down much of the day. If you'd like to see a scientfic explanation of our timing, here it is.

A note about rain: Should the December weather turn bad near the end of the month, causing the creek run-off to be especially heavy, OR if it rains on the actual day, the walk is OFF and we’ll probably all go to a movie. Fair warning here: I will be mildly crabby if this happens.

A note: Just past Summerland, there is an (unofficial) clothing-optional beach, which may or may not have anyone on it. This area marks the beginning of the “Summerland Sprint” for all the kids, so don’t worry – they’ll be to busy trying to win the race to glance around.

We will stop Ash Beach in Carpinteria, and should finish by no later than five. In case any of you would like to arrange for a welcome committee, Gatorade station or some sort of "finish line", this would be the place to put it. Riiiiiiiight at the right hand side of the picture, there.
From there, we will catch a bus back to Santa Barbara, ending at the Carrillo street main bus station. Drivers will make sure that everyone carpools back to the car(s) parked at East Beach, and than disperse. By "disperse" I mean, "Declare dibs on the nearest burger/taco/burrito/pizza stand and eat your birth weight with extra cheese, thus negating most of the positive effects of walking all day long." With wine.

A final note: Your well-mannered, non-snowy plover threatening chasing/eating dog(s) are welcome, but please keep in mind that except for seeing eye-dogs, there are no dogs allowed on the bus and you will need to make alternate arrangements for your transport back to your vehicle.
Please bring: $2.00 cash per person for bus/trolley fare – the bus now costs 1.25 per person and we may need to take one of the little electric trolleys in Carpinteria* that cost $0.25.
-Comfortable water-friendly shoes (I go barefoot, but you’ll want shoes for the bus ride at least)
-Sunscreen/sunglasses – it can be amazingly hot! As well as some warmer clothes for later.
-A towel, just in case
-Water/drinks
-Waterproof camera is nice – there are some amazing views!
-Snacks and/or a bag lunch, or money for lunch in Summerland (Stackeys is popular with the guys and has great burgers!)

*Seaside Shuttle (Carpinteria) Aka little electric trolley in Carpinteria
1. Look up your bus line number (20) and direction of travel. Then pick a bus stop:
• The first name shown is the street on which the bus stops.
• The second name is the nearest cross street or identifying point.
(i.e. Carrillo @ Bath = The bus stops on Carrillo near the intersection of Bath)

Consider yourself Invited. Or Warned.